This afternoon, we told you about a summer associate from Harvard Law School who has already been fired from his firm. After the story went up, the HLS 2L called Above the Law to “set the record straight.” He has a different version of what went on during his brief stay at McDermott, Will & Emery.
According to the former summer associate, who asked that we maintain his anonymity (so please don’t name him in the comments), he was let go because his work visa hadn’t yet come through. As many of you know, non-citizens need to have a work visa in order to work — and get paid — in America.
But according to the HLS 2L, his work authorization papers were delayed because MWE didn’t tell him he’d be able to start working as a summer associate until late February. In case you’re wondering, you cannot apply for a work visa until you know when you will actually be working (in terms of specific dates). The HLS 2L did apply for the work visa in late February, but he’s still waiting for the papers to come through.
As the HLS 2L put it:
I was never officially a summer at McDermott, so I really wasn’t fired.
More details about the HLS 2L’s “heated conversation” with a MWE partner, after the jump.
Continue reading “We Know Where the HLS 2L Worked This Summer
Ex-summer associate cites visa dispute.“
* The Cuban embargo has to be close to its end. I can’t wait to gamble gambol through Havana. [Transracial]
* The Chairman of the Bar Council of India received a lot of criticism for disparaging lawyers who bill a lot of hours to “work like a clerk.” [Legally India]
* Is Obama ready to stand against Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell? Or is he just talking tough? [Law Dork 2.0]
* Lawyers don’t lie for money. We are just masters of suspending disbelief — for money. [The Fat Bigot]
* The Mark Sanford saga is progressing very nicely. [Huffington Post]
* Michael Jackson’s will does exist. [TMZ]
* A thought controlled wheelchair. I can’t wait to see the tort actions arising out of this bad boy: “I didn’t mean to ram into the bipedal individual who was taunting me, I just thought about mowing him down and it happened.” [The Stimulist]
Rising 3Ls at the University of Texas School of Law received a rather matter-of-fact message from their career services office:
OCI Process Overview
Employer registration closes July 1, 2009. The number of scheduled interview rooms is down overall from last year, with a drop of about 45 percent for employers seeking 3Ls.
That’s not so surprising, is it? Just your average, everyday email explaining that recruitment for 3Ls has FALLEN OFF OF A FREAKING CLIFF!
Arguably, more 3Ls than usual will be forced into 3L interviewing (unless you really believe, contrary to some observers, that offer rates will be around close to 100% for current summer associates).
More job seekers + Fewer employers = Recipe for disaster.
After the jump, UT tipsters weigh in.
Continue reading “UT Law Provides More Evidence That Rising 3Ls are in Trouble”
One of our favorite law school deans is stepping down. Dean Mark A. Sargent — best known for L’Affaire Peanut Girl, and more recently gracing these pages after memorably quipping in a school-wide email that “The internet really is a type of hell!” — is departing as dean of Villanova Law.
One student’s reaction to the news:
We did NOT, contrary to popular belief, celebrate like munchkins [rejoicing in] the Wicked Witch’s death when the “Peanut Girl” transferred — but we are definitely doing so now (unless, of course, Dean Sargent is ill — in which case we wish him the best).
Sadly, Dean Sargent may be ill; he is stepping down for “personal and medical reasons.” We wish him a speedy recovery. We also hope his successor is similarly skilled in the use of the “reply all” function.
Read the announcement, from Villanova President Peter Donohue, after the jump.
Continue reading “Farewell, Dean Sargent
‘Peanut Girl’ dean resigns at Villanova.“
We’re getting very close to having 100 U.S. Senators. The AP reports:
The Minnesota Supreme Court has ordered that Democrat Al Franken be certified as the winner of the state’s long-running Senate race.
The state’s top court rejected a legal challenge from Republican Norm Coleman, whose options for regaining the Senate seat are dwindling.
Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty promised to certify the winner based on the court’s unanimous decision.
Al Franken is now poised to assume his seat in the Senate. Will Norm Coleman appeal to SCOTUS? Even if he does, will Franken be seated as a Senator? Didn’t this election end eight months ago?
Update (4:03): Norm Coleman accepts the loss and will not appeal the Minnesota Supreme Court ruling to SCOTUS. He congratulates Al Franken.
Court paves way for Franken to join Senate [MSNBC.com]
Minnesota court rules Democrat Al Franken won Senate seat [Reuters]
Since the recession hit the American economy with full force, Weil Gotshal has received some very high profile work. But it is not immune from the economic problems within the legal industry. The firm recently fired nearly 80 staffers, and in March the firm deferred some of its incoming first years until 2011.
Today brings more unfortunate news for Weil Gotshal employees. According to an internal communication obtained by Above the Law, the firm is closing its office in Austin. One partner, sixteen associates, and eleven staffers will be affected by the move.
The partner, Kevin Kudlac, will be relocating to Weil’s Houston office. All the associates and staff have been offered an opportunity to transfer to one of Weil’s other offices. If they don’t transfer, they’ll receive severance benefits.
Good luck, displaced Texans. I hear Houston is lovely this time of year.
Check out a screen shot of the Weil email after the jump.
Continue reading “Weil Gotshal Closes Its Austin Office”
Summer associates have landed at offices across the nation. They’re working harder this year, even if some of the work is fake, and they’re eating out less often. But the Biglaw recruits are still having fun — sometimes too much fun.
We’ve been asking you about the big events for this year’s summers — concerts, movie previews, booze cruises, etc. Look out for contest finalists soon!
Cadwalader may have already established itself as a front runner in the competition. Last week, the firm took its summers to see a Mets game. Afterwards, some of the attorneys and summers went from Shea to shady. [FN1] From a knowledgeable source:
After the game, some of the male associates took some of the male summers out for some “after-event” bonding. The problem with this bonding is that it was a trip to the strip club. I’m not sure if the firm knew about the afterparty event or if it was sanctioned by or expensed to the firm, but this certainly seems to send a message of exclusion to women; or at least — even if any female summers attended (which none did) — that the firm not only tolerated but supported the objectification / degradation of women that occurs at these venues.
The firm was aware of the outing, but it doesn’t support these Cadwalader cads. The official response, after the jump.
Continue reading “A Stripped-Down Summer Associate Event at Cadwalader”
Man down! We’re not even into July, and it seems that one summer associate has already gotten himself fired. (We’re fairly sure it was a him, but please correct us if we’re wrong.)
Generally SAs are terrified this summer, and therefore on their best behavior. But one fellow apparently didn’t get the memo. Interestingly enough, according to multiple sources, the fired summer is a student at the hallowed Harvard Law School.
Details are a little sketchy, so please treat this as an early draft. The story will surely evolve, as summer associate stories often do. E.g., Skadden Cristal Boy (original version here, alternate version here); Kirkland & Ellis’s Bruised Booze Cruiser (original version here, alternate version here); the Sapphic Smoochers (compare the different versions of the story by scrolling down through the Lindquist & Vennum archives).
Here’s the abridged version:
There are rumors floating around among HLS students that a summer got himself fired. As far as details, I had heard that he talked back to a partner.
A more detailed account, suggesting that alcohol was involved, after the jump.
Continue reading “We Know What You Did Harvard Summer
(Or: A summer associate fired, and it’s not even July.)”
American Lawyer has released its A-List for 2009. The rankings try to measure the qualities that make an elite law firm:
This list, which we launched in 2003, aims to measure and quantify the qualities that define an elite law firm, making an effort to look beyond profits. We examine four factors: revenue per lawyer, commitment to pro bono, diversity among lawyers, and associate training and satisfaction. Our formula gives more weight to the first two factors; we double a firm’s scores for revenue per lawyer and pro bono, and then add scores for diversity and associate satisfaction.
This year’s A-List? The elite of the elite? The top three firms are:
1. Munger, Tolles & Olson
2. Hughes Hubbard & Reed
3. Latham & Watkins
I’ll pause to give laid off Latham associates an opportunity to finish screaming. Please return after the jump.
Continue reading “The Am Law A-List Isn’t Kind to Laid Off Associates”
Yesterday morning, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in the case American Needle v. National Football League (pdf, p.3) for purposes of determining whether the NFL clubs’ collective licensing of individual club trademarks is exempt from antitrust scrutiny under the single entity defense. The Supreme Court’s decision to hear this case was likely influenced by the fact that it marks one of just a few times that both a plaintiff and defendant have requested the Court’s review.
Earlier this month, the United States Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission had filed an amicus brief recommending that the Supreme Court deny certiorari. The United States had argued the Seventh Circuit’s holding in American Needle did not conflict with existing case law–a view with which most sports-antitrust scholars disagree.
For those who have not been following the American Needle case, the original plaintiff, American Needle Inc., had for more than twenty years maintained a non-exclusive license to design and manufacture headgear bearing the NFL clubs’ names and logos. Then, nine years ago, the NFL clubs decided to offer an exclusive license to American Needle’s main rival, Reebok.
Upon being foreclosed from the ability to sell NFL headgear, American Needle sued the NFL clubs in the Northern District of Illinois, contending that the new NFL licensing arrangement violated Section 1 of the Sherman Act by illegally restraining trade in the market for purchasing rights to NFL logos. The NFL clubs, in turn, responded by not only alleging that their licensing arrangement was pro-competitive under antitrust law’s Rule of Reason, but also by contending that the NFL clubs combined to form a single-entity that was entirely exempt from antitrust scrutiny. Both the district court and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals granted summary judgment to the NFL clubs based on the single-entity theory.
But can all 32 NFL teams act as one? Analysis after the jump.
Continue reading “Sports And The Law: SCOTUS Grants Cert In American Needle v. NFL”
* Mission Accomplished? [CNN]
* Doesn’t “Velvet Revolution” sound like a musical band, instead of a collection of angry lawyers administering vigilante justice? [The Blog of the Legal Times]
* Mayoral control of New York City schools could end tonight if the New York State Senate doesn’t act. But hey, politicians acting like children can’t very well care about children. This is a good time to learn the word “mishigas.” [Huffington Post]
* Was Bernie Madoff six times more evil than the Jeff Skilling? [Bloomberg]
* Remote DVRs are okay. I suggest television advertisers seriously consider “product placement.” [Interactive TV Today]
* Rhode Island lawmakers want to change the name of the state. But they don’t want to drop the “Rhode,” or the “Island.” [New York Times]
* Queens is deadly. [Daily News]
* Maybe commenters should stop hiding behind anonymity? [What About Clients?]
* In case you are wondering, I am not the only one pondering whether or not Bernie Madoff can make it in prison. [Dealbreaker]
* Here’s a little free help from LexisNexis. This reminds me of the brilliant Scooner Tuna solution at the end of Mr. Mom. [LexisNexis]
* SCOTUS stats! Here’s an end of the term tally. [SCOTUSblog]
* Here’s how a professional comedian writes a law blog. [Jeremy Schachter's in Law School]
* Somebody got chased with a knife for calling Michael Jackson a talented musician. This country is out of control. [Quiz Law]
* Some lawyers say Twitter is a fad. Other lawyers are already trying to make money and generate business from Twitter, just in case it is here to stay.
[Marketing Strategy And The Law via Blawg Review]
First years to 100K and an “apprenticeship”?
In the past two months, we’ve reported on three firms instituting an apprenticeship model for first year associates: Drinker Biddle, Howrey, and Frost Brown Todd. “Apprentices” start at the firm at a lower salary and are not billed out to clients, billed out at a lower rate than normal associates, or billed out for lower total hours. It sounds like an apprentice is a “paralegal plus.” Of course, that “plus” includes a J.D. and its accompanying law school debt.
Still, when we polled you last week, almost 70% of ATL readers who voted said they were in favor of Howrey’s $100K-plus-professional-training apprenticeship.
The National Law Journal (subscription) has an extensive piece on apprenticeships (noting two other firms that have instituted the practice — labor firm Ford & Harrison and Dallas’s Strasburger & Price):
These firms are putting new recruits through additional apprenticeship programs that they say will better train their attorneys for life at a law firm and for handling clients. Think of it as the equivalent of a medical residency, only with suits instead of scrubs.
The latest — and so far largest — firm to move to an apprenticeship model, 659-lawyer Howrey, announced its program last week. Starting next year, first-years at the firm will get a pay cut — from $160,000 to $100,000 in base pay plus a $25,000 bonus to pay down law school loans — and they’ll spend a good portion of their time attending classes with partners and shadowing them on client matters. The apprenticeship period will last two years.
Are law students really like medical students, in need of on-the-job training in order to operate in the real world? If apprenticeships become widespread — which admittedly seems unlikely once the tough economic times are behind us — should the training at a firm mean one less year in law school? Firm salaries are going down, but law school tuition is going up. Maybe it’s time to rebalance.
A round-up of the salaries for BigLaw apprentices, and a poll on how law schools should be reacting to deflating salaries, after the jump.
Continue reading “Screening ‘BigLaw Apprentice’ at Law Firms”
Oh Charlotte. Oh Queen City. My how global economic crisis denuded your legal industry.
Maybe it is time for a comeback? The Charlotte Observer reports that a legal services firm is poised to hire 100 Charlotte based attorneys:
Unfortunately, we’re talking about document review attorneys:
DiscoverReady, which analyzes e-mails and electronic documents for law firms and corporate legal departments, is opening the office on Trade Street uptown in mid-June. The company has already hired about two dozen workers and will hire others in waves throughout the year, said Jim Wagner Jr., DiscoverReady’s chief executive officer.
About a third of the positions will be full time; the others will be temporary and contract jobs, he said. Most of the company’s workers are attorneys, but company officials are also looking for project managers, office staff and other employees.
All and all, isn’t this good news for the Charlotte legal economy? More details after the jump.
Continue reading “Law Jobs in Charlotte! Kind Of!”
As we have previously reported, DePaul College of Law Dean, Glen Weissenberger was ousted after he sent a letter to the ABA as part of the school’s accreditation review. At first blush, it looked like a university politics fight between Dean Weissenberger and DePaul University Provost, Helmut Epp. But now it appears that the acrimony between the Dean and the Provost goes all the way to eleven.
Provost Epp held a meeting with DePaul College of Law students, and The Shark reported that notes from the meeting ended up on Facebook. Tax Prof Blog has summarized the main allegations that Provost Epp leveled at Dean Weissenberger:
* University officials gave Dean Weissenberger the opportunity to resign, but he refused.
* Dean Weissenberger consistently spent more than the law school budget allowed, in excess of $1 million.
* Dean Weissenberger filled four positions at the law school without permission from the provost.
* Dean Weissenberger’s decision to contact the ABA was “highly irregular” and “making mischief.”
But in this mud fight, the Provost isn’t getting the last word. After the jump, the dean responds to the Provost.
Continue reading “DePaul College of Law: Dean v. Provost Heats Up, ABA Stays Quiet”
Back in May, we reported that Pillsbury Winthrop wanted some of its incoming first year associates to defer until January 2010, some to defer until 2011, and others to take $60,000 to go away entirely.
The firm couched all of these options as “voluntary.” But notwithstanding the firm’s choice of language, we reported that Pillsbury needed at least 22 of its incoming class of 54 associates to take the go away money, or defer for a year.
Pillsbury said that it would announce which associates were starting in January 2010 on June 26th. That was Friday.
But according to my iPhone “date and time” application (how people did anything before the iPhone, I do not know) it is Monday, June 29th. And there is still no word from Pillsbury. Here’s one tipster’s report:
As of this AM, still no news from the firm. Yet again, evidence they can’t be trusted – or don’t care about incoming associates. Their written letters to us said we would know by by Friday. I hope this is not how the firm conducts business with clients.
Should Pillsbury associates expect the firm to actually tell them when they can start? Or should they just start hanging out on the Acela and hope to catch a clue on the wind?
More reactions after the jump.
Continue reading “Pillsbury Incoming Associates Still Waiting to Hear When They Can Start”
Bernie Madoff has been sentenced to 150 years.
Judge Denny Chin said that the sentence was necessary to deter other people from entering into these kinds of schemes
The Judge apparently said that he was struck that there was no letter written in support of Bernie Madoff. On the other hand, the judge received 141 pages of letters from Madoff victims.
Madoff allegedly said:
They have accused me and my wife of not being sympathetic. She cries every night, I am also tormented.
Umm … crying doesn’t make you sympathetic. I think instead of turning on the waterworks, Madoff should try not stealing billions of dollars.
But Madoff did apparently say: “I am sorry.”
But the pitchfork rally doesn’t have to end here. Next up: what prison will Madoff be heading to? A “club-fed” facility, or someplace where Madoff might expect “more bareback.”
For extensive and ongoing coverage of L’Affaire Madoff, surf over to our sister site, Dealbreaker.
The U.S. Supreme Court decided Ricci v. DeStefano today.
The breaking news coming off of the television is that the Court reversed the Second Circuit and ruled in favor of the New Haven firefighters. Judge Sonia Sotomayor was on that panel, so her reversal rate just went up.
Here’s the opinion from the Court via SCOTUSblog. The vote was 5-4, with Kennedy writing for the majority and Ginsburg dissenting.
Right now I’m watching Eliot Spitzer trying to explain it to an amped up Dylan Ratigan. I always wondered what it would like to feed a person coffee mixed with Red Bull while being electro-shocked.
Would this case have been more interesting if New Haven had certified the results of the exam, and then minorities sued the city under Title VII? Random minorities v. City of New Haven would seem more on point about whether or not the firefighter test was discriminatory.
Ricci v. DeStefano.pdf [PDF]
[Ed. note: Above the Law has teamed up with Law Shucks. Law Shucks has done excellent work translating all of the layoff news into user-friendly charts and graphs: the Layoff Tracker.]
Forgive us for sounding like a broken record. There are only so many ways to say the same thing about US unemployment: the rate of new filings has slowed down, but overall unemployment continues to rise. Unfortunately, it looks like last week’s brief drop was just a blip in an otherwise unbroken trend of worsening data.
That pretty much mirrors the trend at law firms – fewer layoffs but still no hiring (with one exception).
More detail, after the jump.
Continue reading “This Week in Layoffs: 06.29.09″
* Bernie Madoff will be sentenced today. Mmm … revenge justice. [Daily News]
* There’s a “legacy of litigation” that will survive Michael Jackson. [National Law Journal]
* The Coup d’état in Honduras is the first Central American coup since the end of the Cold War. [New York Times]
* R.I.P., Billy Mays. [CNBC]
* Maria Belen Chapur (Mark Sanford’s girlfriend) says she’s pretty sure who hacked into her email account, but she can’t say. [CNN]
* Is it time for New York State to have a full blown constitutional convention? Maybe downstate New York should just secede from upstate New York. Then we can rename upstate “East Dakota” and everything will make sense. [Newsday]
